Florida Hospital plans to expand locally

Monday

Oct 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Skyler Swisherskyler.swisher@news-jrnl.com

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — As the Affordable Care Act ramps up, Florida Hospital is turning over dirt on a new outpatient facility — the first in a series of construction projects planned for the coming year.Florida Hospital leaders earlier this month broke ground on a $14.5 million project to build an outpatient center in New Smyrna Beach that will include imaging, physical rehabilitation, physician offices and classroom space.The center will be at the southeast intersection of Interstate 95 and State Road 44. The project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2014.The 31,000-square-foot outpatient center is expected to create about a dozen new jobs.“The hospital system is very interested in meeting the needs of our community,” said Darlinda Copeland, chief operating officer at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach. “In these days of health care reform, our goal is to help the community stay well.”As health care reform takes full effect, hospital officials expect more emphasis will be placed on preventive and outpatient care — rather than simply taking care of people in the hospital when they are sick.Florida Hospital is planning to build a similar outpatient facility in Deltona, said Eric Ostarly, chief financial officer at Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City.The project is in the design phase, and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial has five acres under contract at the Saxon Boulevard and Sterling Silver Boulevard. Deltona city leaders have been vocal in the need for more health care options in the city that grew rapidly during the housing boom. Halifax Health is opening an urgent care clinic and has purchased land for a larger facility.The $11 million Florida Hospital project is expected to be finished by the latter part of 2014 and will produce about 15 to 20 new jobs, Ostarly said.“For the most part, these will be new services in the community,” he said.Florida Hospital is also planning to extend its Centra Care urgent care system into Volusia County. Florida Hospital already has numerous urgent care clinics in the Orlando and Tampa metro areas.Florida Hospital is looking to open clinics in Port Orange and Daytona Beach next year, Copeland said. The clinics will offer extended hours and accept patients on a walk-in basis who are suffering from ailments that don’t require emergency care.“It fills a gap in health care for our community,” Copeland said.